Shipping Out

Tony woke up the next morning feeling nervous and excited. Today was the day he would fly out to his new job. Jumping out of bed and packing the few belongings he had kept with him that he would take on the flight out with him today, he hurried down for breakfast. At a table he spotted Chris waiting for him. Joining Chris they enjoyed breakfast together before standing and leaving towards the lobby. Tony turned to say goodbye to his friend but was stopped by Chris.

"I spoke with the director and I have permission to drive you to the airport so if you want to make your flight we better hurry up", Chris informed Tony.

Smiling Tony got in the car with Chris after putting his luggage in and the drive to the airport was quite quiet. When they reached their destination, Tony turned to Chris and said "Thank you so much for everything. Letting me stay with you, taking my apartment for me, helping me hide from Gibbs and driving me here. I will miss you. You'll have to come out and visit me at some point and I'll try to come back and see you when I have time."

"Of course I will try and come out and see you. Try and keep in touch if you can."

"I'll try. I better get going if I want to get on that flight. I hope Gibbs isn't too horrible to you. If he is let me know and I'll get in contact with that uncle of mine who would do anything for his nephew and his friends."

Laughing Chris said "I'll let you know. Now get on that plane before it leaves without you."

Hurrying out of the car after giving Chris a hug and another thank you, he collected his luggage and boarded the plane. Once sat in his seat he thought about how much he would miss Chris and his other friends in D.C. but also of how much of an opportunity this job was and how much he would enjoy it.

Chris watched the plane take off with mixed emotions. He was happy that Tony would finally get the recognition he deserved and wouldn't be abused by Gibbs anymore but he was sad that he wouldn't be able to see his friend every day and have their weekly movie marathons. Brushing the sad feelings aside, he started the car back up again and braced himself for having to deal with an irate Gibbs. Now Tony was gone though he could honestly tell them why Tony had left and what he thought of them without Tony being dragged back down by them.

Gibbs was in an awful mood this morning. His senior field agent or should he say ex-senior field agent was supposed to be leaving for his new job today and Gibbs had yet to find him so he could confront him and drag his selfish agent back to them where he belonged. Gibbs had a feeling that Pacci was helping Dinozzo avoid him which was confirmed when he found out that Chris had moved apartments and not told him the new address. Unfortunately for Gibbs he had not been able to trace Pacci either which had worsened his mood.

Hoping that Dinozzo wouldn't be leaving until the afternoon or evening, Gibbs thought that he may still be able to get some information out of the Director or Pacci that would lead him to Dinozzo. He had thought that Pacci would be the weak link and he would be able to force information out of him but, after yesterday, he wasn't so sure anymore and that angered him. He stormed into the bullpen hoping to catch a glimpse of either of his targets but was annoyed to find neither were anywhere to be seen. He stormed up to the Director's office only to be informed by Cynthia, his secretary, that the Director was in a conference in MTAC that was confidential and he was not to be disturbed by anyone.

Ignoring the warning, Gibbs attempted to gain access to MTAC but he was repeatedly refused entry despite his clearance. Deciding he would have to drag the information out of Pacci he stormed back down the stairs and into the bullpen to see more agents had arrived including Kate but Pacci was still nowhere to be found. Storming towards Pacci's desk to see if there was any clue of his whereabouts he was informed politely but coldly by the agents that sat by Pacci that Chris would back in the bullpen by lunch as he had the morning off.

Growling in frustration he stomped angrily back to his own desk and ordered Kate to try and track Dinozzo down. Smirking as she thought about what Gibbs would do to Tony when he found him, she began to track Tony's cell phone and credit cards only to find nothing. His phone was apparently still at NCIS and he hadn't used his credit cards in the last two days so she couldn't trace him. Disappointed and worried that she hadn't been able to find anything and about Gibbs' reaction to that, she informed her boss of what she had found.

"Nothing!?" Gibbs exclaimed angrily "But there must be something."

"Nope, nothing at all. It's like he's fallen of the face of the earth", Kate replied.

Chris chose this moment to arrive in the bullpen. He had been listening to Gibbs and Kate's conversation, Gibbs was shouting so loud that most of the bullpen had heard, and he had decided now was the time, when Tony was safely up in the air and they didn't know his new phone number, to confront them. Chris calmly walked into the bullpen and made his way over to Gibbs' team's area

"Ah Agent Gibbs, I hear you have been looking for me", Chris said "What can I do for you then?"

"You know damn well what I want", Gibbs replied "Tell me where Dinozzo is so can talk some sense it that thick head of his." The rest of the bullpen had turned to watch the two agents facing off as if they were watching a soap opera. Even the Director had finally left his hiding place to watch the fireworks.

"You're right. I do know where he is but I'm not going to tell you because he had the sense to leave now rather than stay so you could abuse him some more and then abandon him and treat him like the dirt on the bottom of your shoe."

Shocked at his outburst, Gibbs said "I've never abused Dinozzo and I sure as hell have never abandoned him."

"Well you're wrong on both accounts there. How many times have you head slapped him or hit him when he has done or said something wrong. I wouldn't know but apparently it hurts like hell and the last few you have given him have caused headaches and almost made him black out. Now, I'm no doctor but I even I know that that's dangerous for him and that you have been hurting him significantly and possibly permanently. I think that counts as abuse don't you Agent Gibbs."

"And as for abandoning him well why don't we start with why you refused to let him stay with you while the heating and electrics were being fixed in is building. Yes I know you told him that you wouldn't let him stay again after last time because he told me. Did you know I found him sleeping on the floor behind his desk when I came in last week and so I offered my friend a place to stay and do you know what he tried to do? He tried to say he was fine and that he was only sleeping there because he had fallen asleep writing reports despite the fact he was lying on the floor using his coat as a pillow as if he thought that would be all it took to get me to go away. Do you know why he said this? Because he thought that his personality was so bad that it would annoy anyone he was around so he was trying to avoid having contact with too many people so he didn't upset them."

At this point both Ducky and Abby had come up to the bullpen to see if the rumours that Chris Pacci was putting Gibbs in his place were true and in Abby's case to stand up for Gibbs but Chris didn't give her the chance to save her precious Gibbs.

"All of you four", Chris said gesturing to Abby, Ducky, Gibbs and Kate "Abandoned Tony when he needed some on to stay with. Yes you as well Abby, don't even try denying it. You knew Tony needed a place to stay because you heard Kate's comment but you still didn't offer him a place to stay did you? You just assumed that he would be fine and went out partying with your friends while Tony was trying to sleep on the floor right here. Do you know how cold it gets here at night when they turn the heating down when most of the agents leave to save heating? Tony was shivering from cold."

"You Ducky, you told Tony that you didn't want him to know where you lived. I know you couldn't have given Tony a place to stay and Tony knew that as well. He wasn't begging for a place to stay, he was just being friendly but you snubbed him and made him feel unwanted. Kate, you knew Tony was sleeping here because you had seen it as well but you did nothing about it. Actually you went out of your way to take in a bomber just so that you wouldn't feel as if you had to offer Tony your spare room and then rubbed it in his face in front of everyone. You make it clear you don't think much of him and feel that you are superior to him but do you know Tony or just the man he wants you to see? I bet most of you don't know how many medals he has got for bravery and going beyond the call of duty."

"He ran into a burning house that was on the brink of collapsing to try and save two children in there. He managed to save one but the other died and he still feels as though it was his fault that he couldn't get to her in time. Do any know about the five page letter from a child's mother in Baltimore that was written to Tony praising him and thanking him from keeping her calm when his husband was murdered and her child kidnapped, for finding the people who murdered her husband and for rescuing her little boy and even jumping in front of a man with a gun just as he fired and taking a bullet to save the little boy? No, you don't, because none of you took the time to look past the mask he wears to protect himself from people and make him seem more approachable to people. Did you honestly think Gibbs, that offering Tony a place to stay a week after you adamantly refused to let him near your home, would do any good? No, it was more like a pitying offer that you felt you had to make wasn't it and Tony knew that. Anyway by this point I had already dragged him back to my apartment and mad sure he had eaten a proper meal. He had been surviving on snacks because you Gibbs wouldn't let him eat until you found the bomb. He has a high metabolism and needs to eat regularly or risk passing out but I bet none of you knew that. None of you knew that I had to bring him food in secret so that he could keep working the case without getting ill. You should all be disappointed with yourselves because you pushed away a brilliant agent and a great friend. I hope you're happy with yourselves."

"If he had problems he should have come to me then", Gibbs said.

"What", said Chris "After you effectively told him you found him so unbearable that you couldn't be in his presence for longer than you had to be. You think he trusted you then?"

"Well if he is such a good agent then why did the Director demote him", Kate asked snarkily, trying to ignore the guilty feelings about her part in pushing Tony away.

"I didn't demote him Agent Todd", said the Director, announcing his presence on the balcony above the bullpen. "I promoted him. He is now SAC Dinozzo. Where is classified and need to know, which none of you do need to. I hope this teaches you a lesson in treating you teammates with respect and I can assume that the new agents being assigned to your team will be treated with respect can't I. That goes for you Dr Mallard and Ms Sciuto. I didn't realise that you had been involved in this as well and if I see it ever again then the punishment will be severe."

"I thought you said could choose the agents", Gibbs said "And I choose Special Agents Pacci and Balboa. I trust them to watch my six; I don't trust new probies to watch it."

"Well I don't trust you to watch my six after this and I'm sure that Balboa doesn't either so I decline", Chris said turning and leaving Gibbs standing there open mouthed in the middle of the bullpen before heading to his desk.

"I will be choosing the agents you are assigned as it is about time you have another probie to teach. Every agent has to do it and you have been getting away with not having to because SAC Dinozzo was so and you didn't need another agent on your team but now he is gone you have to step up," said the Director and, with that, he turned and headed into his office leaving Gibbs staring after him open mouthed again.

The Director had been right about Tony being very popular amongst the other agents and staff within NCIS as Gibbs, Kate, Ducky and Abby found themselves being snubbed and treated coldly. They didn't understand or like it. Surely Tony hadn't been all that great, had he?

Meanwhile, Tony was relaxing in the plane wondering what his new team would be like and if they would like him. He received a couple of texts on his new phone as he turned it on which he read quickly. The first was from Chris telling him to have a safe flight and ring him when he got there no matter what the time was. The second was from the Director telling him that not only would he be leading his own team, he would be the Special Agent in charge or SAC as it was known of operations in the middle east and on a global scale. Shocked he replied with thanks to the Director and began to imagine what his new job would entail.